noveldrama
Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Suddenly, the chairman decided to mess with the pursuit.
...Honestly, I wanted to stop her.
Did she really think that would throw off the Cheonha Clan’s search team?
They’re probably just going to know we’re here, making noise for no reason.
I wanted to yell at her, "Old lady, stop talking nonsense and get in the damn cart."
But I held it in.
Out of respect for the chairman, who had shown such a cool side earlier.
And respect for her intuition.
I had to show both of those things.
It was the worst decision of my life.
[Chairman?! Please tell me she hasn’t fainted…]
- *Thud.*
As soon as I sent her off alone, I suddenly heard a loud crash.
I panicked and rushed over.
Did she overdo it and collapse?
"Ugh, ah, uh..."
"......"
She was lying there, alright.
But now, she had fallen on her ass.
Her pants and underwear were pulled down to her ankles, and her legs were spread apart.
For one second, that moment felt like it stretched on forever.
‘Huh...? The bathroom?’
The first thought that crossed my mind was just pure confusion.
From the context, it seemed like she was trying to use the restroom.
Why was she beating around the bush, talking about leaving no trace?
She could’ve just said, “Hey, I need to pee,” and we would’ve sent her right off.
If I thought she had collapsed, I wouldn’t have rushed in so recklessly.
It was such an uncharacteristic thing for the chairman to do.
‘And then, that... uh...’
My eyes slowly drifted down, starting from her violet eyes, tinted with embarrassment.
Her old-fashioned pink t-shirt—was it age-appropriate or not?—and then down to her lower half.
That’s when I truly faced my nightmare.
‘What is that...?'
The chairman's... no, *that* was there.
No, "was" isn’t the right word.
It was there. It had infiltrated. It had tainted everything.
Just looking at it felt like being tortured.
I tried to look away…
Actually, no, I should say I *tried not to look at it*.
But it was pointless.
The reason was simple—my soul refused to follow my brain’s order to avoid it.
They say the human brain doesn’t understand negation.
And it really was like that.
Even though my weak spirit screamed at me not to look,
my foolish frontal cortex was thinking, *‘Don’t look at that?* *That?* I just called it 'that.’"
And so, I kept staring at it, leaving horrific pain like a burn on my eyes.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"
A scream, or perhaps a shriek, erupted from my throat.
Like an animal terrified for its life, my soul cried out, desperately trying to forget what it had just witnessed.
In that moment, I truly felt like a lamb abandoned by God.
But God was dead.
*It’s* eye... it was staring right at me.
Every ounce of fear in the universe crushed my consciousness.
Then my rational mind was driven to the edge of a cliff.
And as I locked eyes with it...
I finally realized the truth.
Oh... I wasn’t looking at it.
It was *looking through me* at the world, from this dimension.
- *Shrrk.*
"Heh, heeek!"
"...Huff!!"
My crumbling consciousness was pulled back to reality.
The chairman had sealed it away, achieving an almost cosmic feat...
No, wait, what am I even saying?
My brain must’ve gone haywire for a moment.
I’ll need to see a psychiatrist later. PTSD, definitely.
"Shia, girl!"
"Don’t worry!!"
"......!!!!?"
There was no time for me to get my mental state together.
Because of the search team—specifically, Shia's voice.
She definitely heard me screaming like a live chicken being cooked earlier.
My expression twisted in horror.
*Why Shia of all people?!*
Yujin’s ex-wife, now my girlfriend.
A person who could travel by shadow.
For Shia, night was practically her domain.
And now, in a forest full of shadows, it was clearly more comfortable than her own bedroom.
Plus, unlike before our regression, her talent was now at S-Class.
Her mobility was at its peak, matching her former prime.
I knew very well how fast Shia could move.
It would probably take her less than five seconds to find us.
While others ran, she could teleport short distances in an instant.
Which meant I had about five seconds before she found us.
*If Shia sees this...*
In the current situation:
The chairman was lying in front of me, pants off, legs spread wide.
I was right there, seeing it all.
Shia—my ex-wife, now my girlfriend.
The second wave of terror hit me.
[AAAAHHHHHH!!!]
[You damned bastard!!!]
As a married man, I was terrified.
And the chairman was scolding me.
And then, the sound of rustling leaves drawing near...
If this were a horror movie, it would definitely get five stars.
In fact, since it was real life, I’d give it a six.
So I thought...
*First, stop the old lady!!*
- *Thud.*
[Shut up, you old hag!!! You wanna see someone die?!]
I quickly covered the chairman’s mouth.
We probably had a lot to say to each other, and we’d likely both want to sue each other later.
But for now, let’s just stay alive.
"...Ugh!!!?"
- *Struggling.*
Of course, the chairman resisted.
It was to be expected when you’re covering her mouth while she’s half-naked in the middle of the night.
I would’ve liked to give her time to fix her clothes, but...
- *Rustle.*
*It’s almost here...!!!*
The situation was too urgent.
I had to get through this crisis first.
I kept my eyes wide open, trying to look anywhere but at *that*.
*First, me!!*
- *Fsss.*
My eyes gleamed golden.
A rare ability among Awakened—"Perfect Hypnosis."
I pushed it to its maximum power.
That bought us some time.
The surrounding cognitive inhibiting hypnosis made anyone who looked at me forget seeing me entirely.
*As for the chairman...*
The problem was with her.
The search team was desperately looking for her.
Unlike me, someone they didn’t even know about.
Blocking their recognition of her would require more than a hastily made hypnosis.
I’d need to focus solely on blocking her recognition.
In other words, it was a choice between two options.
Expose the chairman’s moment before the whole world or save her and take the blame.
I didn’t have more than half a second to decide.
So I clenched my teeth.
I focused the hypnosis on the chairman.
*It’s fine if I take the blame, but I *cannot* let Shia see that!! Protect Shia!!*
It wasn’t really for the chairman, but...
That’s what I chose. To save her and take the blame.
- *Thud.*
[Hypnotic Construct gives a thumbs up!]
[Master, don’t forget about me!]
*Hypnotic Construct...!!!*
In that moment, I saw it.
Hypnotic Construct, standing between the chairman’s legs, in a wide stance.
Its tiny and insignificant back somehow looked so reliable.
For a moment, I almost broke down in tears. Ah, you again...
*I trust you!!*
[Hypnotic Construct puffs up its cheeks and says, "Trust me!"]
Our eyes shone once more with golden light.
The power of hypnosis spread wildly through the forest.
It was working.
"This should be around here..."
- *Suddenly.*
"Huh? Nothing here."
Shia didn’t even notice us.
Even though we were standing right in front of her, it was as if she couldn’t see us at all.
It was because of the hypnosis—my Construct and me, and the chairman hidden behind it.
- *Rustle.*
"Shia, what’s wrong?"
"I definitely heard something from here. The monster’s neck breaking sound."
"Is that so? There’s nothing here."
It was the same for the other Awakened.
They just looked around, their heads cocked in confusion.
If they just leave...
"We don’t have time for this, let’s continue searching."
"No, just to be sure, scan the area. One minute. Search thoroughly with mana detectors."
"......"
As I admired Shia’s efficiency, the Awakened slowly began to scan the area.
They started looking for any traces of mana.
If any mana had been used for body reinforcement, they would’ve detected it.
But it
was fine.
The cognitive inhibiting hypnosis was still working.
They wouldn’t find us.
We just had to wait...
- *Ching.*
"......?"
—At that moment, an unfamiliar sound of running water reached our ears.
Shia and I both looked in the same direction.
Towards the source of the sound.
The chairman was urinating.
"......"
- *Shiver.*
Her body was convulsing.
At first, it was faint, but soon the sound of flowing water grew increasingly loud.
Thankfully, from my position, *that* wasn't visible, and Shia couldn’t recognize it...
*Hypnotic Construct...!!!*
[Hypnotic Construct freezes in place.]
[This warm water...?!]
[Hypnotic Construct hesitates before finally turning away, refusing to face the truth.]
[Master... it says softly.]
Hypnotic Construct had been blocking *that* in front of me like a goalkeeper.
But now it was about to be overwhelmed.
Because the chairman, still unaware of Hypnotic Construct, couldn’t see it.
Grief welled up to my throat but quickly subsided.
*Hypnotic Construct, get away now!! I’ll handle the rest later!!*
I shouted to my comrade.
Run now. I’ll take care of everything later.
You shouldn’t have to go through this.
What did Hypnotic Construct do?
"......"
[Hypnotic Construct stands firm.]
[Master... please, watch over me!!!]
[Its short arms stretch out to the sides!]
*Hypnotic Construct...!!!*
Instead of running, it stood its ground.
It was like saying, "I won’t abandon my comrades."
Tears blurred my vision.
"Eh!? What is that? Pee?"
"Why... suddenly..."
- *Ding!*
[Skill 'Perfect Hypnosis' has... ]
"Looks like it’s just a wild animal’s urine."
"A wild animal? This isn’t a squirrel's amount."
"Could be a roe deer. Sometimes they’re out here."
"Wow, never thought I’d see something like this."
"I think the sound earlier was from the roe deer too."
*Sigh.* "Wasted time. Everyone, get back to searching. Back to formation! Move out!"
"Yes!"
Thankfully, the sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
The women, who had been staring at the urine, resumed their search.
We managed to shake off the pursuers and escape the immediate danger.
...But, it wasn’t in vain only.
The price we paid was too high.
- *Thud.*
[Hypnotic Construct, crying out to its master, says... "I did my best..." ]
- *Skitter.*
[...]
*Mom...*
‘This is... this is a tragedy…’
Golden streams of liquid shot out over Hypnotic Construct’s fallen form.
We wept bitterly.
It was the saddest day ever.
***
While Yujin and Hypnotic Construct were crying over their tragic fate...
- Shudder.
'Th-They saw it. Yujin, you saw it. All of it, right in front of me...'
Seol Hayeon’s inhuman mental fortitude was also cracking.